AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON DRIP IRRIGATION
E.Sathyapriya1* M.R.Naveenkumar2 and V.Dhivya3
1&2
Ph.D. Scholars, Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology,
3
Ph.D. Scholars, Department of Agricultural Entomology, TNAU, Coimbatore.
Mail:
[email protected]Abstract: Land and water are the basic needs for agriculture and economic development of the country. According to
International Water Management Institute (IWMI), one-third of the world’s population will face absolute water
scarcity by the year 2025. Agriculture which consumes more than 80% of the country’s exploitable water resources.
The overall development of the agriculture sector and the intended growth rate in GDP is largely dependent on the
judicious use of the available water resources. Hence, this Scheme on Micro Irrigation (MI), which aims at
increasing the area under efficient methods of irrigation viz. drip irrigation. Drip irrigation is an efficient method of
providing irrigation water directly into soil at the root zone of plants and thus, minimizes conventional losses such as
deep percolation, runoff and soil erosion. It also permits the utilization of fertilizers, pesticides and other water-
soluble chemicals along with irrigation water resulting in higher yields and better quality produce. Drip irrigation
system is regarded as solution for many of the problems in dry land agriculture and improving the efficiency in
irrigated agriculture. Keeping all these in view, the present study was designed to study the extent of benefits
derived from drip irrigation in horticultural crops and to identify the constraints encountered by farmers in adopting
the drip irrigation for horticultural crops. The results revealed that majority of drip irrigation farmers had expressed
the advantages like saving of water, saving in labour cost for irrigation, increased yield, water saving, labour saving,
increased quality of produce, reduced weed growth, extended self-life of produce and uniform application of water.
The constraints encountered by the farmers had, problem of non-availability of quality material, no follow up
services by drip agencies, high initial investment cost, lack of capital to cover maximum holding under drip
irrigation, delay in sanction of loan, leakage in the present drip system. Hence, it is clear from the study, drip
irrigation agencies, financing institutions and others to supply adequate standard spare parts and other appropriate
measures to ensure the satisfactory situation for proper adoption of drip irrigation method.
Keywords
Water scarcity, Scheme on Micro Irrigation, Drip irrigation, Dry land agriculture, Irrigated agriculture
Introduction:
Land and water are the basic needs for agriculture and economic development of the
country. According to International Water Management Institute (IWMI) state that one-third of
the world’s population will face absolute water scarcity by the year 2025. Irrigation has been
considered essential for the fast growth in agriculture which consumes more than 80% of the
country’s exploitable water resources. The overall development of the agriculture sector and the
intended growth rate in GDP is largely dependent on the judicious use of the available water
resources. Hence, Microirrigation technologies are aggressively promoted in India by the central
government, state governments and many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), both local
and international, by providing different kinds of financial, institutional and technical support
systems. These technologies are promoted primarily for one or more of the following reasons: as
a means to save water in irrigated agriculture, as a strategy to increase income and reduce
poverty, and to enhance the food and nutritional security of rural households. This Scheme on
Micro Irrigation (MI), which aims at increasing the area under efficient methods of irrigation viz.
drip irrigation. Drip irrigation is an efficient method of providing irrigation water directly into
soil at the root zone of plants and thus, minimizes conventional losses such as deep percolation,
runoff and soil erosion. Unlike surface irrigation, drip irrigation is more suitable and economical
if it is introduced in water scarce areas having undulated topography, shallow and sandy soils
and for wide spaced high value crops. It also permits the utilization of fertilizers, pesticides and
other water-soluble chemicals along with irrigation water resulting in higher yields and better
quality produce. Hence, drip irrigation system is regarded as solution for many of the problems
in dry land agriculture and improving the efficiency in irrigated agriculture. In this direction
various schemes to promote drip irrigation are being implemented. Thus, in the process of
achieving higher efficiency of drip irrigation, it is necessary for the drip irrigation farmers to
know the benefits and the constraints of the system.
Objective:
Keeping all these in view, the present study was designed to study the extent of benefits
derived from drip irrigation in horticultural crops and to identify the constraints encountered by
farmers in adopting the drip irrigation for horticultural crops.
Methodology:
The present study was conducted Dindigul district of Tamilnadu. The expost -facto
research design was used for the study. A sample consisting of 30 drip irrigation farmers were
selected randomly from the purposively selected three villages of R.P. Pudhur,
Manjanaickenpatty and chatrapatti in Oddanchatram taluks, where in maximum area of
horticultural crops is irrigated by drip method. The questionnaire was developed keeping the
objectives of the study in the background, presented in non - sampling area and then employed
for collecting the required data from the respondents.
Results and discussion:
Collected information were analysed and results are presented in the following table.
Table 1. Benefits of drip irrigation
S. Benefits of Drip irrigation farmers No. expressing the advantages
No.
Number Per cent
(n= 30) (%)
1. Saving of water 28 93.33
2. Saving of labour cost for irrigation 22 73.33
3. Uniform application 27 90.00
4. Improved quality of produce 20 66.67
5. Easy method of irrigation 26 86.67
6. Decreased weed growth 21 70.00
7. Increased crop yield 23 76.67
*Multiple responses possible
The above table revealed that majority of the respondents opined that saving of water (93.33 %)
is major benefit of drip irrigation and followed by Uniform application (90.00 %), Easy method
of irrigation (86.67 %), Increased crop yield(76.67 %), Saving of labour cost for irrigation(73.33
%), Decreased weed growth(70.00%) and Improved quality of produce (66.67 %).
Constraints encountered by the drip irrigation growers
The constraints encountered by the farmers had possessed the problem of non-availability
of quality material, no follow up services by drip agencies, high initial investment cost, lack of
capital to cover maximum holding under drip irrigation and delay in sanction of loan, leakage in
the present drip system
Conclusion
The Benefits encountered by the farmers are saving of water, uniform application and easy
method of irrigation and the constraints are problem of non-availability of quality material and
no follow up services by drip agencies. It is clear from the study that the drip irrigation agencies,
financing institutions and others to supply adequate standard spare parts and other appropriate
measures to ensure the satisfactory situation for proper adoption of drip irrigation method.
Reference:
Kandaswamy. P., 1990. Drip irrigation need for more scientific research for large scale adoption.
Kisan World, 17: 31-32.
Patil, S. M., 1990. Drip irrigation very successful in Banana too. Kisan World, 17: 28-29.
Shivakumar, H. K., Ramachandrappa, B. K., Nanjappa, H. V .and Roopadevi, V. D., 2001.
Micro irrigation macro future. Agro India, 5: 18-19.
